# What is won't a contraction of? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 19, 2010, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wont-a-contraction-of/543769 "2010-06-19T12:07:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wont-a-contraction-of/543769/1 "2010-06-19T12:07:49Z")
Isn’t comes from is not. Doesn’t comes from does not. What the heck does won’t come from? ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wont-a-contraction-of/543769/2 "2010-06-19T12:11:26Z")
Will not. Because it’s hard to say “willn’t”. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wont-a-contraction-of/543769/3 "2010-06-19T12:11:31Z")
Would not, at a guess. ---
**Author:** ![from\_a\_to\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5fc32e/32.png) [@from\_a\_to\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/from_a_to_z)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wont-a-contraction-of/543769/4 "2010-06-19T12:19:12Z")
> [@Stan\_Shmenge](#): > > What the heck does won’t come from? Per [http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-contraction.htm](http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-contraction.htm): > [@](#): > > Some contractions have their roots in historical words or spellings no longer in use, and so seem a bit strange when considered as combined words. Won’t is a good example of this – the expected contraction being something more like willn’t as a contraction of will and not. In fact, historically, the construction was wynnot and later wonnot, which became contracted to wo’n’t and later the modern won’t. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wont-a-contraction-of/543769/5 "2010-06-19T15:36:08Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Would not, at a guess. The contraction for would not is wouldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wont-a-contraction-of/543769/6 "2010-06-19T16:10:11Z")
L and W sounds are not as far away from each other as the alphabet would have you believe. Think of Polish ł (pronounced w), or the way French turns one _cheval_ (shev-al) into many _chevaux_ (shev-o). Neither is an explanation for _won’t_, already given above; just to show that the change from -illn- into -on- isn’t quite as bizarre, linguistically, as it seems at first glance. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wont-a-contraction-of/543769/7 "2010-06-19T17:11:29Z")
It’s a contraction of the Middle English _wol not_ - Chambers English Dictionary. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wont-a-contraction-of/543769/8 "2010-06-19T18:04:13Z")
[http://www.onelook.com/?w=won%27t&ls=a](http://www.onelook.com/?w=won%27t&ls=a) says it is a contraction of woll not. Woll is then defined in older dictionaries as will. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wont-a-contraction-of/543769/9 "2010-06-19T18:11:00Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > L and W sounds are not as far away from each other as the alphabet would have you believe. Kids often say words like “yewwow” or “wowipop” for this reason. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wont-a-contraction-of/543769/10 "2010-06-19T18:20:48Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > The contraction for would not is wouldn’t. I stand corrected and shamed.